Ghost People: Consumers Sunk Into Smartphones Are Not Where You Think

The ironic thing about the nearly pinpoint accuracy with which we can locate people as they use their mobile devices is that their physical whereabouts have less and less to do with where they actually are. We have the technology to figure out, for instance, that a given person is in a specific store—in some cases right down to the department he’s in. But is he really there there? Is he shopping, with the intent to actually buy something, or is he somewhere else—like on the Amazon app on his phone, checking for a better price? Likewise, we have the technology to figure out that a given person is in a specific coffee shop. But is she really present? As in, observant and engaged in her surroundings and, you know, having a conversation with her fellow patrons? (The New York Times recently reported about the plague of the modern cafe as a sort of morgue-like free WeWork space in an article headlined “What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe.”) Continue reading at AdAge.com